


How It All Began

by 100SleeplessNights



Series: Disaster Hearts [1]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Bisexual Kevin Day, First Kiss, Getting Together, M/M, Multi, POV Andrew Minyard, POV Kevin Day, Polyamory, Thanksgiving
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-20
Updated: 2019-07-20
Packaged: 2020-07-09 11:01:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19886521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/100SleeplessNights/pseuds/100SleeplessNights
Summary: On Thanksgiving, Nicky wants to establish a new tradition. It leads to interesting developments.





	How It All Began

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the first fic of the "messy and complicated polycule that I’ve been thinking about non-stop for the past however many weeks". I hope you enjoy!

When Neil had proposed they celebrate Thanksgiving in Columbia, invite Katelyn and Thea and arrange for a flight for Erik, Andrew had agreed to it under the condition that he was to be kept out of the planning. Now that he was sitting at the full dining table between Neil and Kevin, he was surprised to find that he was almost glad he had agreed to it. Thea had a talent for redirecting Kevin’s Exy tangents, Erik was a good buffer for Nicky’s overbearing excitement and Katelyn was just interesting enough to justify to himself that watching her from the corner of his eye wasn’t him watching out for Aaron.

His content mood dipped when after dinner Nicky announced they would now all write down at least three things they were thankful for on little slips of paper. Andrew had already decided to lean back, cross his arms and refuse when he made the mistake of catching Neil’s gaze.

“If you write down three things, I’ll show you what I wrote down,” he offered with an easy smile.

“Bold of you to assume I can’t guess what you are thankful for.”

“Can you?” Neil challenged and raised an eyebrow. Damn whoever had taught him that because it was the last little nudge Andrew needed to grudgingly participate in what Nicky surely hoped would become a tradition.

He sighed and told himself he was only doing this to make sure he would have guessed right. “All right.”

Neil smiled at him and handed him a pen and three slips of paper from the pile in the middle of the table.

Andrew would never admit it to anyone but the three things he wrote down had almost been easy to think of once he had set his mind to it.

When he looked up again, he saw that Kevin already had two folded slips lying in front of him and was currently pondering the third one which looked like it was still blank. Then he grabbed another slip from the pile and wrote something on both. Interesting.

On his other side Neil already had a small pile of filled slips in front of him but he was still writing more. Andrew wasn’t yet ready to admit he couldn’t guess what Neil had written on each of them, he had expected Neil to fill three slips, maybe four, but he wouldn’t be able to delude himself much longer.

After he had filled two more slips, Neil looked up and smiled when he saw Andrew was already looking at him. “Staring,” he teased and pushed the pile of paper slips towards him. Andrew thought about it for a second and then handed Neil his own slips before he looked at Neil’s.

 _The Foxhole Court_ , the first said. Predictable. Andrew could have guessed that one in his sleep. _Dan_ , the next one said. Then, _Renee_. Andrew almost rolled his eyes. Had Neil written all of the Foxes’ names down on individual slips? The next three, which said _Matt_ , _Aaron_ and _Kevin_ respectively, supported that theory.

Andrew counted the remaining slips. Eight. Four were most likely for the remaining original Foxes. That left another four, one of which was probably for Coach and maybe one for Abby. Neil didn’t like any of the freshmen so far, so Andrew guessed the last two slips were for very trivial things, like cigarette smoke or the colour orange. When he unfolded the next slip of paper one of his guesses was proven right. It said, _Coach Wymack_. Then _Seth_. _Nicky_. _Allison_. The next one he unfolded said _Andrew_ ❤︎. While he had expected to find his name on one of the slips it was still startling to see it and to know Neil was thankful for him. The little heart next to his name didn’t exactly help matters. He had never before seen his name even close to a heart and he didn’t know how to deal with seeing it now when Neil had been the one to put it there, knowing Andrew would see it.

He took a deep breath and let it out again to push the feelings trying to surface back down. He couldn’t deal with them now. He almost crumpled and threw away the slip of paper with his name on it, never to be seen again but instead he decided to pocket it after all. He didn’t want anyone finding it by coincidence.

There were only three folded slips of paper remaining now and the one Andrew unfolded next said _Coach Hernandez_. For a second Andrew was confused but then he remembered his first meeting with Neil in Millport. Andrew hadn’t expected Neil to be thankful for his high school Exy coach, but now that he thought about it, it made sense. Neil wouldn’t even have the other things he was thankful if Hernandez hadn’t sent his file to Wymack.

Andrew had thought he wasn’t prepared for a stupid little heart next to his name, but he was even less prepared for the two words on the second to last slip of paper. _My life_ , it said in Neil’s familiar scrawl. Seeing those two words, realizing Neil was thankful for _being alive_ , made Andrew’s chest feel tight, his emotions once again threatening to overwhelm him. He would need some time alone to put himself back together after this. Hopefully, Nicky didn’t have any other family traditions planned.

The last slip he unfolded was almost anticlimactic compared to the one before it. It just said _Abby_ , confirming the last of his guesses. At least it gave him a second to make sure his face was calm and unaffected as always before he looked up at Neil and pushed the slips back towards him.

“Predictable,” Andrew said, and Neil gave him a smile that said he could once again look right through Andrew.

“One of yours wasn’t,” Neil said, and Andrew wondered for a second whether it was _Neil_ or _Sobriety_ that Neil hadn’t expected to see before he brushed it off as insignificant.

Instead, he went back to watching Katelyn out of the corner of his eye, refusing to pay more attention to her even when she handed her paper slips to Aaron and got his in return. He ignored the slight stab of jealousy in his chest. He didn’t want to know what Aaron was thankful for.

“Is everyone done?” Nicky asked a minute later. When no one said anything, he took that as confirmation and said, “I’d like to read-”

Andrew got up, effectively shutting Nicky up. He wouldn’t sit there and listen to the others read out the things they were thankful for. Before anyone could stop him, he left the room and went to the porch to smoke and finally get his mind to calm down again.

Neil joined Andrew some time later and sat down next to him with enough space between them to fit another person. Andrew pulled the pack of cigarettes out of his back pocket and held it out to Neil. Neil shook his head.

After a few more seconds of silence Neil said, “I told Nicky not to bother you. But Kevin wants to talk to both of us once we are back inside.”

Andrew nodded once.

“Nicky was the only one to read out what he was thankful for and after that everyone went to do their own thing, so you didn’t miss much.”

Part of Andrew wanted to ask, needed to know what Nicky was thankful for, but he wasn’t sure he could handle the answer, so he didn’t.

Neil must have seen the question on his face, though, because he said, “Erik, Aaron and you. That’s what he’s thankful for.”

Now that it was only him and Neil, Andrew let the feelings that overcame him at that revelation move through him before he stored them away again, to be discussed with Bee at a later time. Neil gave him the time and space he needed and when Andrew felt more stable again, Neil held out his hand in an offer for Andrew to take it. Andrew lit another cigarette, took a drag from it and then did.

By the time the cigarette had burned to the filter, Andrew felt like himself enough again to listen to whatever Kevin had to say so he ground the stump out on the porch, pulled his hand out of Neil’s and went back inside. He didn’t even have to look behind him to know Neil was following him.

“Kevin,” Andrew said when he spotted him in the living room.

Kevin looked up from the conversation he was having with Thea and Erik, excused himself and approached Andrew and Neil. Andrew led the way upstairs for a bit of privacy in the crowded house and leaned against the hallway wall waiting for Kevin to talk. But instead of talking, Kevin pulled a few slips of paper out of his pocket and Andrew instantly lost any interest in what he had to say. To Andrew’s surprise Neil didn’t and took the slips from Kevin.

“Andrew,” Neil said a few seconds later and held the slips out to him. Andrew wanted to rip them from his hand and tear them apart but when he noticed the surprise on Neil’s face, he decided to look at them and find out what Kevin was thankful for as well. Curiosity killed the cat and all that.

 _Thea_ , the first slip said. The next, _~~Coach~~ Dad_. So far, so predictable. The third one said _Neil_ , which explained both why Neil was so surprised and why Kevin had needed four slips of paper. He read the name on the last one, confirming what he had already guessed. It said _Andrew_. He would have liked to claim seeing his name a third time was easier to deal with than the previous two but instead the opposite was true.

“Why?” Neil asked when Andrew had handed the paper slips back to Kevin. It was a question Andrew wanted an answer to as well but never would have let himself ask.

“I… I wouldn’t be here, wouldn’t be who I am, without you. Either of you. And I couldn’t be more thankful for that.”

Oh. Well, wasn’t that interesting. Until now Andrew had never gotten the impression that Kevin was thankful for anything he or Neil had done. Kevin didn’t sound like he was lying though.

“Why is this the first time I hear about this?” Andrew prodded.

Kevin sighed. “I wasn’t ready to admit it, even to myself.” _And you weren’t ready to hear it_ , Kevin didn’t say but Andrew could still hear it loud and clear. It was true but that didn’t mean Andrew had to like it. He had dealt with things he wasn’t ready for time and time again already; he could’ve dealt with that as well.

 _But those were never good things_ , Bee’s voice in his head insisted, _you probably would have pushed Kevin away if he had shown you his gratitude sooner_.

Neil’s voice interrupted Andrew’s thoughts. “Kevin, can I kiss you?” he asked.

Kevin stared at Neil for a second and then looked at Andrew.

“Are you… okay with that?” he asked, sounding hesitant but hopeful.

“Yes,” Andrew said. Neil had told him he was polyamorous and developing feelings for Kevin more than a month ago. After a long conversation, Andrew had not only warmed up to it but also allowed himself to once again think about his own attraction to Kevin that he had pushed to the furthest reaches of his mind years ago. But there was someone else who had to consent to this. “Is your girlfriend?”

“Yes,” Kevin said without hesitation. “Thea knows about me being poly and my attraction to both of you. She told me to share this with you in the first place.”

That was certainly unexpected, but it made this whole thing a lot easier. Andrew still wanted to talk to Thea about it though.

“Kevin?” Neil prompted, bringing Kevin’s attention back to himself.

“Yes, you can,” Kevin said.

Neil surged forwards, wrapped his hands around Kevin’s neck and pulled him into a kiss. Kevin put his arms around Neil’s hips and returned the kiss with equal fervour.

Despite all the thinking Andrew had done and all the revelations he’d had in the past month, he had still expected to feel at least a little sting of jealousy but that wasn’t the case. Instead he felt calm and… happy for them. It was a nice feeling, but it would take some getting used to.

“I’ve wanted to do that for a while,” Neil said after their kiss, his hands still wrapped around Kevin’s neck.

Kevin’s face split into a smile unlike any Andrew had ever seen him wear. “Me, too.”

It was almost nauseating how soft the two of them suddenly were, but Andrew didn’t dare interrupt their moment. They deserved to take their time with this.

Long seconds later, Neil let his hands drop from Kevin’s neck and squeezed Kevin’s hands once. Then he stepped out of Kevin’s personal space again, as always incredibly conscious of boundaries. In a way, that reassured Andrew, it showed him he wasn’t an exception and Neil wasn’t just considerate with him because he needed to be.

“Kevin,” Andrew said before Kevin could decide their conversation was over and leave. “Yes or no?”

Kevin’s head snapped towards him and he just stared at Andrew for several second before he said, “Yes…” It sounded more confused than confident.

“I want to kiss you,” Andrew specified. “Yes or no?”

Kevin’s eyes widened. “Yes,” he said again, none of his confusion lingering. On the contrary, he sounded almost excited.

Andrew crossed the few feet of distance between them, barely noticing when Neil stepped out of his way. He came to a halt so close to Kevin that he could almost feel his chest moving with every breath.

Before Andrew could tell him to hurry up, Kevin pushed his hands into his pockets, much like Neil had done for one of his and Andrew’s earlier kisses and leaned down.

The consideration of that gesture made Andrew swallow once but then he grabbed Kevin’s hips tightly and tilted up his head.

Their kiss was nothing like Andrew had expected it to be. Kevin gave as good as he got, his lips insistent on Andrew’s but somehow not demanding too much and when Andrew pulled away after what simultaneously felt like seconds and hours, Kevin let him and slowly straightened again.

Andrew didn’t have to turn and look at him to know Neil was smiling brightly. But for once he didn’t feel the need to comment on it and not only because he knew Neil would in turn point out his own less-than-blank expression.

Instead, he let his hands linger on Kevin’s hips for a few more seconds before he stepped back and around Kevin to get to his room. He locked the door behind himself and let himself fall onto the bed. He needed some more time to himself to come to terms with what had happened in the last few minutes. He trusted Neil to know and tell Kevin that his departure wasn’t rejection.

\---

The second the door fell shut behind Andrew; Kevin’s face fell. Stupid. It seemed Andrew hadn’t wanted to kiss him after all and had only done it because Neil had or maybe because he wanted to know what it was like. Or maybe he _had_ wanted to, and Kevin had done something wrong or the kiss had been terrible in general. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. He should go back downstairs, ask Thea to drive him back to Palmetto and never talk about this night again.

“Kevin.” Neil’s voice broke through his thought spiral.

“Tell Andrew I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-” He broke off, not able to voice his fears.

He had already started to bolt when Neil put a hand on his chest. Kevin was so surprised by it that he stopped.

“What are you sorry for?” Neil demanded. “Did you not mean it when you told him yes?”

“No. I did. But I must have done something wrong or he wouldn’t have left.”

“You didn’t,” Neil said, so insistently that Kevin almost believed him.

“Are you sure?” Kevin asked. He didn’t want to get his hopes up only to have them crushed the next time he saw Andrew.

“As sure as I can be without being in Andrew’s head.”

Kevin swallowed. Neil knew Andrew better than anyone else, so that would have to be enough for the time being. “Okay,” he said.

Neil’s face softened and he showed the barest hint of a smile. “Good.”

“We kissed,” Kevin confessed to the darkness between him and Thea when they were the only ones left in the living room and lying curled up on bedrolls.

He could see Thea’s fierce and proud smile even in the dim light of the moon.

“That’s great. I’m happy for you,” Thea said and pressed a short kiss to his lips.

Her reaction filled Kevin with warmth, just like Neil’s and Andrew’s initial reaction to his earlier confession had. It reassured him that it had been the right thing to do.

“Thank you for pushing me to finally tell them,” he said because he needed her to know just how much he appreciated it. “I don’t think I could have done it without your encouragement.”

“You could have,” Thea insisted, always seeing the good parts of him when he couldn’t. “I just helped you do it a little earlier.”

\---

Andrew had just decided to get ready for bed, so he could process what had happened that day further while he was asleep when there was a familiar knock on the door. He pulled on a pair of sweats and opened the door for Neil.

Neil opened his mouth to say something but when Andrew stepped aside and gestured for him to come in, he closed it again.

“Where do you want me to sleep?” Neil asked as he pulled his night clothes out of his bag.

Andrew assessed his mental state for a second and when he found he was only feeling good, if confusing things, he said, “You can stay.”

Neil gave him a soft smile and went to the bathroom to get ready for bed as well.

When he returned a few minutes later Andrew had already gotten comfortable in bed. Neil locked the door behind himself and then lay down next to Andrew. Once he seemed comfortable, Andrew asked, “Yes or no?”

“Yes,” Neil said without hesitation, so Andrew laid a hand on his chest and rested his forehead against Neil’s shoulder.

Neil smiled at him again and asked, “Can I touch your arm?”

“Yes,” Andrew said, and Neil oh-so-gently placed his hand on Andrew’s bare forearm. Falling asleep touching wasn’t exactly new for them anymore but it still felt delicate and fragile and Andrew wouldn’t admit it to anyone, not even Neil, but he treasured every time it happened.

“Good night, Andrew,” Neil said and closed his eyes.

“Night,” Andrew replied and slowly succumbed to sleep.

When Andrew woke up the next morning it was to the familiar sight of Neil right in front of him, his impossibly blue eyes fixed on Andrew’s face like Andrew was his true north.

“Staring,” Andrew said even though he was long past denying he liked it when Neil’s attention was on him.

“You’re hard to look away from,” Neil said and smiled way too brightly for the time of day.

“Shut up.” Andrew was still not used to the swoop in his chest whenever Neil said things like that.

“The others are downstairs already I think.”

Andrew nodded but made no move to get up. He was way too comfortable right now to even think about getting up and having breakfast. Neil didn’t move either, so Andrew closed his eyes again and savoured the relative silence, only broken by the occasional loud noise from downstairs. When he noticed movement next to him what felt like an eternity later, Andrew opened one eye and watched as Neil slowly got off the bed.

“You coming?” Neil asked when he noticed Andrew watching him.

Andrew didn’t say anything but after a second he rolled out of bed as well.

“Don’t trust me to put the right amount of coffee into your sweet milk?” Neil teased.

Andrew rolled his eyes. “Yes or no?”

“Yes.”

Andrew leaned towards Neil but when their lips met instead of kissing him, he bit Neil’s lip. It was as good as admitting that yes, he trusted Neil to get his coffee right, but he was pretty sure Neil knew that already anyway.

“Wha- you brat!”

Andrew let a small satisfied smile show on his face. He liked it when part of Neil’s British heritage showed, no matter how small that part was. “Takes one to know one.”

Neil huffed but didn’t deny it and they got dressed and went downstairs in silence.

After breakfast, Thea cornered Neil and Andrew before they could leave the kitchen.

“If either of you ever hurt Kevin, intentionally or not, you’ll wake up even shorter than you already are.”

Andrew nodded. He could tell she meant every word and his respect for her grew.

“Will we be missing our heads or our feet?” Neil asked cheekily because of course he did.

“I’ll decide spontaneously.”

Neil gave the tiniest of smiles in return and Andrew knew him well enough to know that meant he took her threat seriously as well.

“Anything else we should know?” Andrew asked. If there were any boundaries Thea wanted to set, now would be a good time to negotiate them.

But Thea only grinned at him and said, “Kevin likes it real slow.”

Andrew could definitely work with that.

By early afternoon, the house was empty aside from Neil, Kevin and Andrew. Thea had had to leave again after lunch and Nicky, Erik, Aaron and Katelyn had spontaneously decided to take Erik’s rented car and spend the afternoon on a double date or something equally romantic.

It only took a few minutes after the front door had fallen shut behind Nicky until Kevin brought up the previous night. “Was last night a one-time thing?” he asked. It sounded like he very much didn’t want it to be.

Andrew wanted to roll his eyes. Shouldn’t it be obvious that no, it wasn’t? He supressed the urge though because he knew with his insecurity rearing its ugly head, Kevin would interpret that as a yes.

“Kevin, yes or no?” he asked instead.

For a second Kevin looked confused but then tentative happiness spread on his face. “Yes.”

Kevin leaned down and Andrew let their lips meet for the second time. He even heeded Thea’s advice and let the kiss develop as slowly as he knew how. He was rewarded with a little sigh gusting from Kevin’s lips.

“It wasn’t,” Kevin concluded after their kiss, Andrew’s hands once again lingering on his hips.

“It wasn’t,” Neil confirmed. He waited a second and then added, “Can I kiss you again?”

“Yes,” Kevin said again. Andrew let go of Kevin and stepped away from him so Neil could take his place and watched as Kevin relaxed completely under Neil’s lips and hands.

Andrew felt something fall into place deep inside his chest. It had been too much to process the previous night on top of the other startling revelations but now he could finally properly appreciate that this, him and Neil and Kevin, felt right. The feeling was a little overwhelming but when Neil and Kevin pulled apart and turned to smile at him, he knew he could deal with that.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments keep me motivated.
> 
> Find me on Tumblr: [@fall-down-the-foxhole](https://fall-down-the-foxhole.tumblr.com/)


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